Don't shortchange phys ed

Are New Jersey children and adolescents getting enough physical activity in school? That was the question we posed to three essay writers in a recent Sunday @issue section. All were in agreement that in an era of rising obesity rates among the young, more needs to be done. We strongly concur.

New Jersey mandates 150 minutes of physical education a week, which can include recess and health and safety education. Only two other states require that much time. But mandating it, and monitoring and enforcing it, are two separate matters.

In the lower grades, many school districts aren't coming close to complying with the 150-minute standard. In the upper grades, compliance seems uneven.

Given the state of obesity in this country, that's a problem. More than one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of obesity in adolescents has tripled in the past 30 years, and about one of every four children doesn't engage in any physical activity outside of school.

Schoolchildren are consuming more calories and exercising less, out of school and in school. Two decades ago, 42 percent of public schoolchildren in the U.S. attended daily physical education classes, according to the CDC. Today, only 4 percent of elementary schools, 8 percent of middle schools and 2 percent of high schools provide daily physical education or its equivalent for all students in all grades.

A 2010 report by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and the American Heart Association found that nearly 75 percent of states require physical education in elementary through high school. But more than half allow students to substitute other activities for their required physical education credit, or fail to mandate a specific amount of instructional time.

To be sure, schools alone can't solve the problem. But mandating regular physical activity, along with a curriculum promoting healthy lifestyles, can go a long way toward addressing it. Merely having a 150-minute-a-week requirement on the books, however, isn't enough.

Prior to publishing the essays on physical education, we asked the state Department of Education some questions we had hoped to incorporate into our discussion in the @issue section. The department's responses, after repeated prodding, came two days later - too late to include in the section.

Among the questions was, "What percentage of districts are noncompliant?" The response from a department spokeswoman: "In recent years, virtually no districts have been out of compliance with regard to their PE minutes. A handful of districts have been out of compliance with regard to their adopted curricula being aligned to our content standards, but after a review they rectify this."

Sorry, we're not buying it. One 30- or 40-minute period of gym once a week, as is offered in many elementary schools, along with outdoor daily recess of 15 or 20 minutes - when it isn't raining or too cold outside - falls far short of the mark.

Nor did we find the response to this query satisfactory: "Why not specify a minimum number of hours for actual physical activity each week?" The answer: "The reason for not having specific rules within the mandate is a combination of not wanting to be overly prescriptive and there being competing demands with regard to other uses of time during the school day."

In other words, if schools have better ways of using their time, so be it.

New Jersey's minimum standard for physical education, while higher than most states, is still less than that recommended by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education - 225 hours for middle school and high school students.

Helping children and adolescents stay fit in an out-of-shape society alone is reason enough to have them engage in regular physical activity in school. But it isn't the only reason. For those who say academics must take precedence, several studies have confirmed that even modest amounts of exercise can improve academic performance.

Phys ed matters. Today more than ever. If there aren't enough hours in the school day to accommodate it, extend the day. At the very least, the state must make certain that all school districts are complying with the 150-minute mandate, and reviewing whether it is rigorous enough.

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Don't shortchange phys ed

Are New Jersey children and adolescents getting enough physical activity in school? That was the question we posed to three essay writers in a recent Sunday @issue section.

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